Hunter's Vanguard
by Origm2012
Summary: Set ten years before the start of Gon's adventure. Come read the tale of some of the other hunters the exam spawned. SYOC story.
1. I'll Have To Be A Hunter Then

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone. I know some of my current readers, if any of you are even reading this or exist anymore, are kind of surprised by this. Well, to be short. Hunter x Hunter is fantastic and I finally felt able to start a story for it. Updates for my other stuff is coming with the next few days. Thanks for reading and look at the note below for more info.

* * *

 **January 9th, 2001, Before Dawn, Jappon**

It's up to you Kean.

His sister's words replayed in his mind every step of the dirt path before him. She'd never entrusted him with anything. Not once in his entire life had Kean been told that the good of the clan rested on his shoulders. Over the last few months, things had gotten more and more tense in the Hayashe clan. But it clearer than ever for the young ninja, that things must be serious if he was being sent out of Jappon. Not only for a mission, but a mission specifically geared towards learning how Hunters could be so strong.

His footsteps seemed lighter than silence. He moved briskly and without error. Even the yellow leaves under Kean's black tabi shoes didn't crumble.

Kean moved with a purpose. Only a singular redeye flight ever landed on the edge of Jappon to allow Hunter entrees passage to the exam. If you missed it, you were out of luck for the year. This was part of Jappon's desire to keep to themselves and withhold the integrity of their customs. For as long as possible, they wanted to preserve that inkling of the yesterworld they refused to leave behind. And it was for that very reason that the spiky haired ninja was often on the outs with his clansmen. No matter what he did, he always seemed to be the odd one out. If all the clan shaved their head, his hair grew back overnight to pristine spikiness. Everyone's mastered a technique, Kean's struggling. Kean figures out a better way to do something, the clan likes the old way.

Old the more reason for Kean to not fail here. If there had been anyone around, they probably would have mistaken him for a blur of blackness, given his ninja garb, but he couldn't afford to take things slowly. No time could be wasted in reaching that flight and becoming a Hunter as soon as possible. Kean's elder half sister stood as one of the higher ups in the clan and to no one's surprise was the only reason he hadn't been cast out long ago. She had even given him a small pouch of gold to secure a roof over his head and food. He wasn't a bad ninja. He was just different. Despite his skill, his way of thinking went against the clan's in every way, but one. Do anything for the clan.

"Help!"

The cry for help jarred him from his repetitive thought process.

" _Who could possibly be out here right now?"_ he thought. _"And why would they need help?"_

He turned on his heel almost immediately. He'd find them. Help them. And then move on with his mission. No big deal. And then as if to tease him for his own duality, he heard an engine start up and the faintest sound of a propeller following along with it.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

He took off. The only proof of his having been there; the matted leaves trailing towards the cries for help.

It didn't take long to locate the problem. Two thieves and a young farm hand. The farm boy had been bloodied and knocked to the ground already, while the thieves were helping themselves to what must have been a bushel of apples given the abundance of the trees.

A deep breath followed by a roll of the eyes were the prelude to a warning that Kean was certain would be ignored.

"Ok," he said in an attempt to peacefully make the thieves aware of his presence. "Just drop the bag an-"

"I'll kill him!" shouted one thief. He'd already drawn a small blade and began to make his way over to the farm hand.

As quietly and as quickly as he'd arrived, he crossed the clearing. The thief barely saw, let alone felt, the force of the fist winding him. He staggered backwards before slumping over into a heap of his own weight. Kean considered using his binding rope to secure the criminal, but found quickly decided it was excessive.

Kean's eyes narrowed on the other thief. He'd either run away or at Kean now. Either way, Kean couldn't let him go. But at least one of those would save him time.

He took off.

"And of course!"

With little more than a leap he was in front of the thief, panicking them even more. They frantically drew a dagger and sliced at a missing target.

With movement true to the Hayashe name, Kean was as fluid as could be. One hand popped the grip on the blade loose. The other catching it before it hit the ground before Kean pinned the thief to the tree, forcing him into submission.

"I give up!" yelled the thief. "I'm sorry. We were just so hungry."

A sad truth, but sometimes the outskirts of Jappon were unkind. Unless you were a farmer, finding steady work was difficult. But despite that, there was an injured farm hand now and so he could let them go.

"And that meant you had to bloody a young boy for food?"

From the hate in his eyes, it was clear that Kean's words stung the thief. He eyed Kean for a long time before spitting out, "Just do whatever you're gonna do to me. But leave my buddy out of it if you can. It was my idea."

Living on the outside was hard, no matter where you were looking in from. That was just the simple truth of it. But that didn't mean there was no way out for a person if they tried. "I'm on my way to take the Hunter Exam," said Kean. "In one year's time, there will be another flight leaving for the exam. I want you on it."

He pulled out the small brown pouch. "This should be enough for the apples you stole. Pay it back and then head towards Mostrife Dojo and pay the entrance fee for you and your friend."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! We can't be Hunters!"

"Why not!" shouted Kean. "All the obstacles that might be in your way, I just removed."

It was damning to be sure. And to anybody looking in at the situation they might be thrown. But this was why the ninjas of Hayashe despised Kean. There was no reason or logic to him.

"Last call for all hunter examinees!"

The words echoed through the forest. "Oh crap! Like I said, one year!"

"Wait, I don't even know your name!" shouted the thief. "I'm Aito!"

"Kean!"

A blur moving through the forest. That's about all he was at this point. The plane was getting both louder and quieter all at once. Which meant it was likely moving around the field and preparing for take off. And just like that it came into view. A small white plane, doors already closed and pulling off towards the sea.

"Wait!"

His screamed drowned out by the roar of the propeller, he was left with one option. Chase it.

It grew closer and closer to the edge of the field and then ever so slight it began pulling up just as Kean neared it.

"Oh no you don't!"

He pulled out the binding rope, tied it to the thief's dagger, and threw it. The dagger had just barely hooked onto the landing gear. And before he knew it, the plane was over the ocean, with Kean dangling in the air beneath it.

There was really only one silver lining in all of it. Kean dreaded flying. Absolutely hated the idea of being trapped in a small plane. So dangling from a place several hundred feet in the air provided just enough adrenaline to take his mind off the actual flight.

That and once he had given up yelling for help, he recited, 'It's all for the clan' to himself until eventually the plane began to land.

It hadn't occurred to him, but there was no way he could just drag along with the plane until it came to a stop. Lucky for him he already had directions as to where he was supposed to go. The flight from Jappon was to make a stop on a tiny island separate from the Archipelago called Nipre. And from there, they were to take a boat ride to the exam site.

As the plane descended and neared the island, Kean jumped to the water below. "Here goes," he said before he plunged beneath. His training had taken on the most intense forms possible. No. He had never dangled from a plane and then free fell to the ocean below, but things very similar were referenced to remind himself that he probably wouldn't die.

He swam ashore and then began the run towards the runway he could see the plane had parked on. There were other planes beside it and from them, people were pouring out.

After a few minutes, Kean made it the plane his binding rope had been attached to. He pulled it loose and then lined up alongside the passengers, much to everyone's surprise.

"Where the hell did you come from?" asked an examinee.

"Why are you soaking wet?" asked another.

"Hahahaha," laughed the pilot. "You pass for sure."

"I pass?" asked Kean.

"How does he pass?" screamed a giant man towering well over 8 feet. "We all had to answer one of your ridiculous riddles before we passed and all that before the plane landed."

"I can't imagine you ever answering any form of riddle," joked Kean.

"What was that?!" yelled the beast of a man.

"I. Don't. Think. You're. Smart."

The giant seemed ready to pop a vein, but the pilot intervened. "I decide who passes and who doesn't. He hung out of the plane all the way here and then jumped down and swam to us. Good enough for me."

"You knew I was there?!" yelled Kean.

"Of course I did. What pilot doesn't notice a man hanging onto his plane?"

"And you left me to die."

"You seem fairly alive to me," said the pilot. "Plus you were late. I'm not obligated to be late waiting on you because you showed up late."

"I was busy helpin-"

"Doesn't matter to me," shrugged the pilot. "I figured if you were serious about being a Hunter, then that much would be possible for you and what do ya know? You're fine."

Kean considered arguing some more, but the old scruffy pilot had already walked off. There were all sorts of people around. A fellow ninja, swordsman, the brutish giant. All sorts of martial artists and weirdos. A man dressed as a knight, a woman in denim overalls and a strawhat, a pair of triplets completing each other's sentences. There seemed to be an endless supply to the people who had made it this far and Kean couldn't help, but wonder what lay ahead of them.

The pilot came back to them with final instructions. The ship taking everyone to the exam site is on the other side of the island. "I'd say be careful and no matter what, keep your eyes on the Vibe Tree." The pilot pointed towards the tree which seemed to almost bend in the wind and tower over the island. "As long as you keep it in sight, you should be fine. Once you reach it, you'll receive instructions on which shore the boat is on. Good Luck!"

And with that, Kean and the countless examinees took off.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Ok. So that was short, but it was just something to get the ball rolling. This story will be an SYOC, so message me for the form if you're interested. Fair warning. I'm not waiting around for long for OC submissions. If you're interested, let me know when you can get the OC to me and if things change, let me know. If there's no correspondence, I'm assuming you lost interest. I really don't want to lose momentum at any cost.

Special thanks to **The Impostor, MyDearWatson and Dreadburner94.**


	2. What's A Vibe Tree?

**Author Note:** Ok and where back. The starting main cast has been decided. Tons of villains and other groups were created, which is great and for the most part we have everything we need. So let's continue.

* * *

 **January 9th, 2001, Midday, An island in Jappon**

A sprint?

That was the question repeating in Kean's mind. He had taken off immediately.

"Eyes on the big tree," he scoffed. "Simple enough."

His running turned to leaping and before he knew it, he was in his element, a forest. Leaping from branch to branch. Every now and then jumping just over the canopy of the forest to keep the Vibe Tree in view.

Even from this distance, the tree was strange. It was a large tree, but there were certainly larger ones in the world. What made this unsettling was how so big a tree could bend without breaking. The tree resembled a person bending over at their waist. From back to front and side to side, it swayed as if it was trying to snap itself in pieces.

He pushed it out of his mind and leapt on. "Make it to the tree. Just make it to the tree."

* * *

Down below, a young lady had just made it to the forest. Her pale skin seemed to be taking a beating from the scorching sun so as much as she hated to, she kept her straw hat on. The denim overalls hung close to her curvy figure as she hop over boulders and ducked under branches.

There were people running beside her, but she was soon pulling ahead of them. Very soon she had come near the front of the pack and found herself running beside a tall, barrel-chested blonde man. He was dressed far too elegantly to be running at all, let alone through a forest. Nevertheless, he kept pace with her.

He noticed the green eyes piercing into him and without skipping a beat, he turned a waved happily at her.

"Hi!" his deep voice boomed. "The names Walton, you?"

He was ducking and diving as he spoke to the twin tailed girl and while she was keen to avoid unnecessary distractions, she couldn't help, but be interested in why someone who looked wealthy was trying to become a hunter to begin with.

"Clare," she said quite simply. "I don't mean to pry, but are you sure you can keep up in a suit?"

Boisterous laughter erupted from the man. "And I wouldn't dream of appearing rude, but are you sure you should be asking that?"

His eyes went from her boots to her overalls, but seemed to be glued to the monstrosity on her back. He was keeping up with her, but she had a giant scythe harnessed to her back.

Any other person and she might have shot back at him or stormed off entirely, but there was something so casually disarming about Walton that it was clear he meant no offense.

She shook it off and the pair continued on ahead.

* * *

Back at the landing strip, a baby blue eyed young lady watched the hordes of examinees take off towards the forest between them and the Vibe Tree. Despite the heat, a dark green sleeved turtleneck gripped her neck. She wore mid rise tan shorts and green slip-on shoes to match her turtleneck. The deadly heat made her ruby red cheeks even redder.

The creamy blonde twin drill hair swung from side to side as she thought over the pilot's words. "Keep the tree in view Kōkyu, that's all we have to do."

"Well, how the hell am I gonna do that from inside a forest. I suppose I'll have to go around it."

Instead of heading North towards the tree, she headed East coming to a sort of raised Plateau standing just over the forest keeping the tree in view.

She was moving slowly and cautiously, which is why a voice behind her startled her even more.

"Is this really your first time?"

Kōkyu spun on her heel in surprise, to find a girl even smaller than she was. Kōkyu stood a few inches taller than her, but the stranger appeared to have feline ears that covered the difference. Her hair was tied into two chocolate brown pigtails and Kōkyu could see the bright green eyes staring into here awaiting an answer.

"Who are you?" asked Kōkyu.

"Oh! I'm Mika!" she exclaimed as she twirled on her ballerina shoes. Her frilly white apron and maid outfit followed suit as her spinning came to a stop. "But is it really your first time?!"

" _She seems genuinely excited,"_ thought Kōkyu as she watched strange cat woman jump about with a passing butterfly.. _"Isn't this supposed to be a high pressure exam where the best of the best compete to become a hunter?"_

"My name is Kōkyu. How did you know it was my first time?"

"Oh! Kōkyu! That's a pretty name! Well, I didn't see you last year or the year before so, either you were new or you took a few years off. But you seemed really, really young. But then you didn't make the mistake of going in the forest, so I thought 'oh! Maybe it isn't her first time."

"This is your third time? But more importantly, how do you know the forest was a mistake?"

Mika pressed a finger to her lip in thought, "Well, I don't know for sure. But the pilot said to keep our eyes on the spooky looking tree and it'd be hard to do that from inside the forest, so there's probably a trick to it. Honestly, I fell for something really similar my first year and got eliminated really early. Hahaha, at least I didn't die, right?!"

Picking through the parts important to her, Kōkyu took note that Mika was likely right.

" _Why tell us to make it to the tree so that we can be pointed to another shore when they could have just taken us to the other boat? And then the hint about keeping the tree in sight and the shortest path to it putting it directly out of sight? She may be a lot to handle, but keeping Mika around might be useful."_

"Are you coming?" asked Mika who had walked on while Kōkyu was lost in thought.

"Huh? Oh yes, of course. Lead the way."

* * *

"It doesn't make any sense," Kean said to himself. "I should have made it to the tree by now. But it feels like It's taking forever."

He had taken to jumping over the canopies as often as possible now and by his calculations he should have made it to the Vibe Tree by now. The island wasn't particular huge and the tree sat right in the middle. A few miles inland at best. Running through the forest should have taken 2 hours at most, leaping through the trees, less. And yet, he was nearing 2 and a half hours and still had some distance to go.

 _Wait a minute!"_ he thought. He landed within the forest and behind him he could hear the voices of several other examinees. Some he could see and they all seemed to be running as hard as they could. But they shouldn't have been that close to begin with. He had a theory to test now. He ran along the ground for nearly half a mile before leaping back up to the canopy and the Vibe Tree seemed unmoving. And now for the second half of his theory, he ran only the canopy itself for a half mile before touching back down in the forest.

"Aha!" he yelled. They were about half a mile further behind him, no more. "Keep your eyes on the Vibe Tree?! The grumpy old man meant we can only advance to the tree if we keep watching it!"

And so he took off along the canopy once more, never falling beneath the tree tops until he landed in a large clearing with the Vibe Tree at the center. There was an open pathway to the East and West which stretched all the way to each shore. The tree itself seemed to bend from side to side as it watched him. Just in front of the tree stood a tall, elderly woman. She had a smile plastered on her face as if she was a proud mother.

"Well done," she said. "You made it to the Tree. Now, you must head West and catch the boat to progress on in the exam." She handed him a tile with his examinee number, #3.

Kean's excitement grew even more. He knew early on he'd have an advantage on his peers and despite having a mission to complete he was worried there'd be no competition.

" _2 people were faster and more clever than I was! Amazing!"_ he thought.

"You seemed excited," the old lady giggled.

"I was worried there'd be no competition, but if I'm #3, then I've got to try even harder, right?!"

"That's true," she smiled.

" _It's been years since I felt aura like those. I hope for your sake, you've got a lot of fight left in you. Because if more people like those two show up, I fear for your lives today."_

"Good luck," she added and with that Kean took off towards the Western Shore.

* * *

On the Eastern plateau surrounding the forest's edge, Mika and Kōkyu came to a long, cleared pathway with the Vibe Tree clearly in sight.

"We did it!" said Mika. "Now we'll be able to keep it in sight with no issues.

"You're right," sighed a relieved Kōkyu and the pair took off towards the Tree.

"You're going to stop right there," said an incredibly tall, shaggy haired lanky man as he stepped out from behind a tree. "I'll be passing this year. And if that means weeding out the numbers early on, then so be it!"

He drew a knife and jabbed at the pair, his absurd reach making them easy targets.

A large smile crossed Mika's face, revealing her 1 fanged grin. She ducked, pulling Kōkyu down beside her.

"I owe you for last year Cobo." And with frightening speed, she rose up into an uppercut.

His head was ringing as the blade was knocked loose, but Cobo had the presence of mind to keep fighting.

"Same mistake as last year!" he shouted as he enclosed his arm around Mika's neck before she hit the ground. "Make sure to tell the judges I said hello."

"I never make the same mistake twice!

As the arm enclosed, she braced herself and kicked off his body.

"Who said I'd do the same thing twice!"

With his free hand, he grabbed her foot before she could leap away forcing her to the ground.

He stood over her, like an animal ready to pounce before he felt a blade pierce into his thigh.

As the pain registered, his eyes scanned from his own blade to the culprit. Kōkyu's face had drained of its color, but she looked determined.

"Leave her alone!" she yelled.

Cobo cocked back his fist, "Stay out of i-"

Mika's foot found its way to his jaw lifting him up a bit before he fell back to the ground unconscious.

"Wow! You did it!" cheered Mika.

"I did it?! You kicked him and punched him," Kōkyu frantically shouted. "I just stabbed a man. I stabbed him."

"Yeah, you stabbed him." smiled Mika as she gave a thumbs up.

"That's not normal, that's not a good thing."

"It's not a bad things though. He probably would have eliminated us. I accidentally eliminated him my first year and last year he got his revenge."

It seemed like a lot to take in, but she didn't have much time to register it all as Mika was already pressing on towards the Vibe Tree. "You coming?!"

Kōkyu shook it off. "Ye- Yeah!" And she took off behind her.

* * *

Inside the forest, Clare and Walton could feel the tension too. They were progressing, but it didn't feel fast enough.

"It shouldn't take this long!" yelled Clare. They'd been running for what felt like hours, but slowly they'd noticed that the people who they had long passed were not far ahead of them. They couldn't piece it together, but even though they were running they weren't getting to the tree.

"I agree, Ms Clare," said Walton. The Vibe Tree came into view every now and then through openings in the Canopy and while they were definitely closer than when they started, they shouldn't have been in the forest still.

"Passing over the island, it certainly did not look tremendously huge," added Walton.

"I don't understand! I can see the tree!" shouted Clare. "I can see-"

" _I'm going to feel like an idiot if this is true,"_ she thought.

"Hold on Walton." She drew her scythe and darted forward cutting a few trees down as she went.

After a moment, Walton caught on and took off his suit jacket. He folded it up before leaving it on the ground. With his bare fist, he struck a tree forcing it to fall over onto another tree in the opening Clare had just opened. They gave each other a look of acknowledgement before using it as a sort of ramp, they climbed to the top of the and peeked out in every direction. They couldn't have been more than a mile from where they started.

"Are you serious?!" shouted Clare. She was more upset in having not realized sooner, but she quickly calmed herself.

"What now?" asked Walton. "Are we supposed to climb from tree top to tree top? Or do we turn around and look for another way to the tree?

"No," said Clare. "That'd take too long."

" _Those people who passed us figured out this weird trick. They must be running while keeping an eye on the tree. Which means they're running from canopy opening to canopy opening."_

"We'll make our own canopy openings!" she declared.

And the pair got to work. They ran from opening to opening and cut and punched their way where there wasn't any until they found themselves passing the other examinees.

After some time they burst out into the clearing, coming face to face with the elderly lady who awaited the examinees.

"Hello there. Congratulations!"

"What the hell do you mean? What was up with that forest?!" shouted Clare.

A look of bewilderment splotched across the woman's face and it was clear she was feigning ignorance, but before Clare could continue, Walton gave her a pleading look which cooled her off for a bit.

"Thank you," he said.

The lady pulled out two tags and handed them to Clare and Walton, # 236 and # 237 respectively.

"The boat is to the West. Good luck!"

Clare considered asking more questions, but realizing she was pressed for time, she moved on.

* * *

Kean got to the boat. It was a large carrier ship. As he got there people were being turned away. He could hear the guards asking for their tags and if they didn't have any they were directed to go to the Vibe Tree. What's worse, another guard wouldn't allow them in the Western path. Kean had noticed on his way down the path, there were guards stationed here and there, but they did little in the way of helping him or obstructing him, but for these without tags, they seemed ready to pounce.

But that wasn't his real issue, he couldn't quite place it. But there was a feeling of dread and fear washing over him as he walked up the ramp to the ship. As soon as he stepped foot on the deck he locked eyes with who he could only have assumed were entrant #1 and #2.

Kean felt he had walked in at the wrong time because the tension between them was stifling. The man on the left was tall with chiseled features and long blonde hair. He had #1 pinned to his chest. The other man wore a black suit and was seated on the deck spinning the #2 around. Feeling he was a bit more welcoming, Kean went up to him.

"Hi," said Kean. "So you made it here second?"

The man in the suit took his spider web handkerchief out to polish his pin. "Yup, I was hoping to get number 8," he added with a small chuckle.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm really happy to get this underway. There's so many great OCs to work with, I hope I don't disappoint. If you're OC is being portrayed wrong, let me know immediately.

OC credits:

Clare - The Impostor

Kōkyu - JackHammerMan

Mika - Cheshite Neko-chama

Special thanks to The Impostor, Dreadburner94 and MyDearWatson. Go check them out.


	3. Phase 1

Author's note: Look an update! I won't say anything if you don't.

* * *

 **October 9th, 2001, Evening, An island in Jappon  
**  
The day dragged on and little by little more and more people got on the carrier ship. It was dusk before the ship was bustling with activity. Just as the sun set, Mika and Kōkyu stumbled on board. They were exhausted from their run, clutching their #334 and #335 tags. A whistle sounded on board and everyone turned to the source immediately. A frighteningly short man stood on an upper deck.

Now with their attention, he straightened his green jumpsuit and smiled cheerfully.

"Hello there!" A monstrous voice boomed. Having shocked most of the passengers, he ran his fingers through his white shoulder length hair and then cleared his throat before trying again. "Oops. Sorry about that. Anyhow! Welcome to the Hunter Exam! We will be beginning phase 1 shortly."

Murmurs quickly built up into an uproar.

"PHASE 1!"

"What do you mean?"

"It hasn't even started yet?"

As cool as can be, the man answered, "Nope."

The casualness in his response seemed to stun the crowd, only birds seeming to make any noise between his words.

"My name Baro Chike and I will be one of your proctors for Phase 1. Before the ship takes off, I have been instructed to give each of you a moment to leave and attempt the exam next year if you realize you were unprepared."

He gave a pause and no one moved an inch. "From here, your lives are your responsibility. The work of a hunter is dangerous and the exam hopes to emulate that aspect." He gave a signal to the boat crew and it slowly took off.

"When we arrive at your next location, there will be 3 guides that can guide you to Phase 2. Each of them will present you with their own challenge along the way and should you succeed in passing it, you will be allowed entry to Phase 2."

"That can't be all?" came a voice from the crowd. Kōkyu had stepped forward. "We simply follow these guides and pass a little challenge? Do you take us for fools?"

Baro shook his head. "Does it matter?" he said. "Whether or not I find you foolish, that's your task. One of these 3 guides will have a small flower on their lapel. This guide has the most manageable task of all. If a guide is wearing red they have a short route. The most dangerous guides to follow are the tall ones. Now I've just told you 2 truths and a lie."

With that, Baro cut through the crowd over to a small staircase, "There are some refreshments down below. We should arrive within an hour."

His last tidbit threw the examinees into an even greater uproar with most people chasing after him, hollering for more details. Others headed down to a large open room with tables lined with water and crackers. Those who chased after Baro, saw that he was nowhere to be found.

Clare settled in beside Walton at a table.

"Whaddaya think of this?" asked Clare.

Walton quickly glanced over at Clare having heard an accent pop up, but experience got the better of him and he chose not to address it. Especially since he was busy with his own dilemma.

"Hmm. The crackers taste a bit stale as far as I'm concerned," he said wrinkling his nose as he searched for flavor.

"Not the food. The exam. Something isn't right. Why tell us any information at all?"

"Well it wouldn't be an exam if it was left up to guessing which guide is the hard one, right?"

"Exactly!" She immediately withdrew a bit before shuffling closer and whispering. "Just from the order he explained things, first it was a guessing game. Then a matter of memory and then back to a guessing once he said he lied."

"Huh? You're right," he chuckled. "Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Clare had been so caught up in making it through the exam, that it was only now she realized that she knew nothing about Walton. What was he doing here? Why did he want to become a hunter?

The words seemed to form on the tip of her tongue, but she held herself back. Because to ask those questions she'd have to be willing to answer them and she wasn't quite sure if she was up to that.

* * *

Elsewhere, Kōkyu and Mika were burnt out over the similar issues. Which one was a lie?

"Which do you think was a lie?" asked Kōkyu.

"I don't know," the smaller of the two said in a matter of fact voice. "It didn't sound like any of the challenges were impossible so it doesn't really matter? Does it? We can just pick any of them and fight our way through!"

 _"She might be insane,"_ thought Kōkyu.

Elsewhere, Kean had taken a seat next to #2. A puff of smoke floated between the two as a yellow eye peaked over at Kean. "It can't be that interesting watching me smoke," he told Kean.

"Honestly, I've never seen a cigarette before, so it sort of is."

The yellow eyes arched in surprise. "Huh? Want to give it a try?" he asked in earnest.

Kean let out a small chuckle, imagining the hell his sister would give him if she were to somehow find out. "Ahh, no thanks. The name's Kean."

"Sakyo," #2 said coolly. "You know, you must be pretty strong."

Kean immediately perked up. "You think? Hahaha. I've been training all my life and I'm..."

Sakyo's eyes narrowed across the hall, Kean's voice drowning out, as he locked eyes with #1.

"That is Silva Zoldyck," thought Sakyo as he offered a nod to the rambling Kean. "That's a monster. Even this guy felt it and he doesn't seem to have any knowledge of nen."

"Hey!" Interjected Sakyo.

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to be a hunter?"

"Ahh, I was just explaining that, but... yeah. Like I was saying, my sister sent me on a mission to learn the secret to strength from the hunters."

"Oh? Is that so? What if I told you I already knew the answer they would give you?"

Kean's eyes lit up. "Really?! Could you tell me?" he beamed.

"Sure, but you've got to prove your strength to me. You see that man over there?"

Kean's eyes turned towards #1 immediately. "Yeah?"

"Stick with him through this phase and tell me if you see him do anything strange. If you can manage that, I'll tell you all about the hunters' secrets."

He seemed sincere. But that didn't matter much to Kean, he had a lead and he wasn't going to waste it.

"Deal!"

The hour afterwards seemed to pass quickly. Most people were locked in a debate over which statement was a lie and how to get to Phase 2.

A mission was something Kean didn't take lightly.

" _Stick close to #1. Simple enough."_ thought Kean as he silenced the innate fear he had as he approached him. _"I'll just strike up a conversation and…"_

Almost reflexively, he came to an immediate stop the moment Silva's eyes met his own. Every inch of his body screaming at him to turn and run. The fear of staring down something so incomprehensibly overwhelming that even as he tried to open his mouth, he couldn't form words. The room seemed to lose focus and he plopped down at the nearest table to keep from fainting.

Not remotely capable of watching where he was going, he half sat on Walton, half fell into his lap.

Words were definitely coming from somewhere.

" _What is that? Whose voice is that?"_ thought Kean his gaze slowly moving from Silva.

"I said, are you alright?" boomed a friendly Walton. He seemed to be cradling the young man who had fallen short of passing out.

Kean shook his senses back. Immediately surveying the confused faces of Clare and Walton.

"My utmost apologies," he said leaning into a bow. "I guess I'm a bit hungrier than I thought. I did hang from a plane on my way here," he added with a slight laugh.

A pair of shocked faces met his and with gesture from Walton, he sat down to tell the story of his morning. Indulging in stale crackers as well before the conversation turned to why they were all there.

"Well," began Walton. "I don't have any grand reason to be honest. I need to get stronger as fast as possible."

A smile crossed the shaggy haired Kean's face before he clasped a hand on Walton's broad shoulders. "Me too! That's my whole mission. My sister sent me here to get stronger."

"Hunters have the best chance to make it big in the world. I'm gonna be the greatest hunter that ever was," added Clare as simply as possible.

"Ooh! You're like an action hero!" cheered Walton and Kean.

"What?"

"Yeah!" smiled Walton.

"You're on a quest to be the greatest. You might as well be a movie star, it's super cool!" added Kean.

"I can't possibly be that corny…"

* * *

Eventually the boat came to a stop and the tension in the air seemed to tighten around everyone. And then Baro's voice could be heard outside.

"Examinees please exit the top of the boat!"

Little by little the examinees came up top and their eyes widened in shock immediately as they exited.

Before them now stood 5 people. Each of them seemingly identical to Baro. 2 of them had flowers on their lapels and the other 3 were dressed in red. Behind them was a dense forest that stretched on and on.

The 1st wore a green jumpsuit and had a flower on the lapel.

The 2nd wore a red jumpsuit.

The 3rd wore a red jumpsuit.

The 4th wore a green jumpsuit and had a flower on the lapel.

The 5th wore a red jumpsuit.

"Good evening everyone! Please select a guide."

"What kind of shit is this!?" yelled an examinee. The young honey blonde haired man appeared to be furious. "You said there would be 3 guides to Phase 2."

He wore black dress pants and matching shoes. He'd rolled up his crimson red shirt's sleeves as if he intended to fight, but was still restrained by the suspenders over his shoulders.

"There are," all 5 Baros said simultaneously. "Now select your guide so we can move on."

There seemed to be a wave of realization wash over all the applicants. This was the missing piece to solve the 2 truths and a lie. No matter what, 2 guards are lies.

The slightest of smiles crept onto the red shirted man's face, unseen by almost everyone, before twisting back into anger.

"You're full of shit! He yelled as he went and stood beside the second guide, a Baro in red. "You think we're gonna believe you after you lied so many times."

All eyes were on him as he went on a tirade. "You lied about how many guides there were, height difference went out the window. For all I know the flower is a trap!"

He took that chance to stand behind the 2nd guide, a red shirted Baro and little by little murmurs filled the crowd as the people selected their guides.

"Oh, he's good," said Sakyo, under his breath, as he took another drag of his cigarette and pulled up alongside Clare, Kean and Walton.

"What do you mean?" whispered Kean. "He chose the wrong one, didn't he?"

Sakyo's eyes narrowed again before a smile crept up on his face.

"There's a right one?" asked Walton.

"Correct," said Sakyo. "Based on the information we got, the correct guard is likely the 1st Baro. And the lie he told was about their heights."

"I see it now," said Clare, her eyes focusing. "The 1st, 2nd and 3rd guards are just slightly taller than the rest."

 _"Scary,"_ thought Sakyo. _"No nen and they picked up on that difference."_

"Exactly," began the #2 examinee. "The average person isn't going to see the height difference and with one of the statements being about height. They must be testing observation and deduction skills. Going through the trouble of having 5 look alikes, means that the lie is likely about the height. If that's the case, then the tall ones are safe." He paused to take another drag of his cigarette before continuing. So if there's a short one with a flower and a tall one with a flower?"

"Then the first guide, the tall one, is the safest guide," Walton whispered excitedly.

"So then why did he go to the second guide? A tall one in red?" asked Kean.

"The little shit is screwing with everyone. Everyone was thinking about the clues, but he figured out the answer immediately and to stop anyone else from figuring it out, he put on a show," said Sakyo. "See how nobody's stopping to think about which one is the right one any more, they were fooled into believing it was a game of chance."

There was truth to what Sakyo was saying, most of the other applicants were just trudging along to a guide. There didn't seem to be any forethought going into the decision any longer.

"But then why choose the 2nd one if he knows the answer?" asked Clare.

"Probably to sell it better. If he went on that tirade and then chose a flower guide, he'd seem weak for still believing a flower was safe, since it's still a 50/50 chance. But by denying it altogether he's discredited all the information."

Kean was listening intently and as if to test his mettle, his eyes scanned the crowd for Silva once more. He hadn't given up on his new mission just yet. He would follow Silva no matter what and then his heart sunk. He watched the tall blonde man head over to the 3rd guide, a tall one in red. All things considered, red meant a long route which meant things were sure to be more difficult.. Surely the #1 applicant knew this and so without a word, Kean began walking towards where Silva and a few dozen applicants stood.

"Wait!" yelled Clare. "Where are you going?"

"I'll see you guys in Phase 2! I've got something to take care of 1st," Kean called back to them.

"Is he crazy?" asked Walton. "If we're correct, then surely that's one of the worst guides to go to?"

Sakyo was silent. It was a mixture of impressed and intrigued. He saw Kean almost pass out an hour earlier and here he was walking towards Silva anyhow. "Interesting," he said before outing his cigarette. "Well, I'll be on my way."

"Wait?! At least let me thank you properly! Your name?" yelled Walton.

"It's Sakyo," the black haired man said with a wave as he moved behind the 2nd guide.

"What should we do?" asked Walton. "I feel like we just got the answers to a test."

It didn't sit right with Clare either. She was certain of everything they'd just discussed and even more so because of it, she didn't feel right taking the safest path. She wanted to be the greatest and to be the greatest, meant she couldn't. No. Wouldn't pass an opportunity to test her limits.

"I'm gonna go with the 3rd guide," she said. "I'll meet up with you at Phase 2 if you want to go with the 1st guide."

She was already walking before she knew it, but with no more than a smile of acknowledgement, Walton stepped up alongside her and said, with a hearty laugh, "We'll go together then friend!"

Sakyo watched the pair walk towards the 3rd guide and let out a sigh. _"I guess I'll be finishing that job later,"_ he thought.

* * *

The examinees had split into 5 groups and the 1st Baro was the first to set off. This group had about 40 members and despite their nervous apprehensions, they followed this guide along faithfully.

Their trek brought them through a marshy forest that made walking difficult, but despite this Baro managed it effortlessly only stopping one time to tell those directly behind him, "Careful of the Marsh Bears!" And with that he continued on ahead.

His presence could just barely be seen through the line of trees, all the visibility attributed to the bright green jumpsuit he wore.

"He's moving so fast!" huffed Kōkyu as she hopped past one of the deeper marsh pits. Ever so slightly, their number had thinned down a bit. Kōkyu and Mika had pulled up to just short of the front of the pack. A solitary scream every now and then putting them on edge as it took the place of someone's footsteps.

"Do you think Marsh bears are scary?" Mika asked having come to almost a complete halt.

Not looking forward as much as one might have to, Kōkyu almost crashed into her. "Tch, watch where you're goi-"

Her eyes slowly trailed up from the floor, past the shorter girl and up to a large grey bear towering over the two. It let out a deafening roar, bits of spit and its last meal spraying over the pair.

"Ru- Run!" screamed Kōkyu. The words left her mouth, but her body wouldn't obey as she watched a paw swinging towards Mika. The paw seemed to almost brush Mika's Chocolate brown pigtails, before she dropped into a crouch.

Kōkyu had spent the better part of a day with Mika and up to this point she'd chosen to not press further on the obvious. Mika was strange. From her crouched position, her tail swished along the ground feverishly. She flexed the muscles in her hands forcing claws to protrude and even from behind the cat-like woman, Kōkyu could see the intense smile baring Mika's singular fang.

Mika lunged forward driving her own claw into the bear forcing another howl, but it was the other applicants running by them that brought Kōkyu back to her senses.

" _I need to find something to help!"_ she screamed inside as her eyes scanned the area. They landed on loose vines and as she moved for them another thought crossed her mind. _"Why do I want to help? Can't I go on ahead?"_

One step. And then another. And then another.

The grinding of claw and flesh could be heard behind her as she walked on, just barely stepping past the vines before she could already feel herself cursing this decision later. She drew her pocket knife and cut off a long length of vines.

She stood ready for an opening and just as Mika dodged another slash, Kōkyu threw the vine up over the Marsh bear's head. It turned instantly, but not fast enough to get in the way of Mika grabbing the other loose end and sliding back around the creature before nodding to Kōkyu.

With the bear's neck wrapped in the middle, each of the girls pulled in the other direction tightening the vine. Slowly it dropped to its knees and then collapsed over.

"Is it dead?" asked Kōkyu.

Mika placed her head alongside the bear's face before turning back with a smiling, "Nope. It's just sleeping."

"Then we need to go!"

The pair were on their way before another Marsh bear cut in front of them. This one seemingly not as vicious as on its back was a young boy. His long sleeved white sweater, which matched his unkempt hair, drooped over his skinny frame. There was a harness made out of vines that wrapped around his matching black pants and running shoes.

Even in the dead of night, the girls could tell he was pale, but his orange eyes cut through the darkness.

"That was pretty cool," he started. "The name's Sephtis. Want a ride?"

"No thank you," started Kōkyu before Mika butted in with, "Yes please!"

She hopped on the bear which remained stationary as they waited for Kōkyu.

"I'm not coming," Kōkyu said defiantly.

"Why not?" asked Sephtis.

"We can't trust you."

"But I brought a bear?"

"That's why we can't trust you!" yelled Kōkyu. "Get down Mika."

"It'll be alright Kōkyu. Hop on."

"We've got to get going," said Sephtis. "The guide is going to disappear soon."

Despite their pleading, Kōkyu remained adamant about making her own way and shortly after Sephtis and Mika took off. They caught up to Baro and within a few minutes, they found themselves by a huge cliff with an airship floating off in the distance. Within the next half an hour, 30 more applicants poured through the marsh, Kōkyu among them.

"Hi Kōkyu!" Mika yelled, but despite her calls, Kōkyu refused to answer her.

While this had been going on, the other 4 groups had been waiting to depart. 10 minutes after the first guide took off, the second guide signaled for his group to follow closely as he took slightly to the right of the 1st guide.

* * *

" _Is this all?"_ thought Sakyo _._ Keeping up with the redshirted Baro was child's play for Sakyo. _"I was hoping to keep it respectable, but at this point it's getting boring."_

He ran up and began running backwards beside Baro and asked, "Hey! How much further?"

There was no response. So he prodded the same question again before coming to a realization. "So that's how it is? A nen doll? Ugh, fine."

Elsewhere, the young man who had caused all the commotion at the start of the exam was keeping to the middle of the pack right now.

His name was Jack Russel. _"Hehe! That should whittle down the competition a ton. I'm a genius!"_ he thought.

His smile was plastered on his face as he ran through what was a marsh. They had received a warning about Marsh bears a little while ago, but save for occasional scream, the 70 members who had come with this guide were mostly holding their own. At the moment about 50 remained

"You're quite happy despite being so angry earlier?" came a young woman's voice. The company jarred Jack from his thoughts as he immediately stared daggers at the source. A pale teenage smile met his glare. A young woman wrapped in a turtleneck with frizzy brown buns atop her head.

"I came to check on you since you were so angry earlier," she began. "But you seem fine now."

"Yeah you seem fine now," said Sakyo as he fell back alongside them.

" _Where'd he come from?!"_ thought Jack. _"The girl I figured was someone passing by, but I didn't see him come from anywhere and how is he running backwards and still keeping up with us?"_

"Yeah. I'm fine," Jack said cautiously as he ran. "Can I help you two?"

Off to the side, a Marsh bear came roaring out of the darkness and the trio came to a halt. Jack squared up, while the young woman drew the pair of scimitars strapped to her olive green pants.

Before either of them could engage, they realized it was already falling over. Both of them just barely registering Sakyo had left their side, attacked the bear and was already walking back to them. He was wiping off the slightest bit of blood from his hand.

"Is it dead?" asked the young woman.

"Unfortunately. Yes," said Sakyo.

There was a look of sadness upon the young lady's face before she turned to Sakyo and said, "Thank you for looking out for us. My name is Kalei Jarillo."

"A pleasure," said Sakyo. "I am Sakyo. And you are?"

They had turned to Jack and were awaiting his introduction before he walked off in silence, then slowly picked back up into a run.

"Oh. Poor sport? I'll go check on him, you make sure to keep up."

Kalei gave an affirmative head nod before Sakyo took off and in little time caught up to Jack. "You know I like you, but being rude is just unnecessary."

"I don't know who you are, but stay the hell away from me!" shouted Jack.

In any other given capacity, Sakyo would have backed off because he felt Jack wasn't worth the trouble, or put him down for his disrespect. But he was honestly bored enough to let it slide, but the waning of his patience was physically evident on his face even for Jack.

"I mean. I just want to take the exam seriously is all. I don't want to deal with anyone else.

"But isn't that what you did with all the other applicants?"

"What are you tal-"

Lying was second nature to Jack, but the unamused expression on Sakyo's face quickly silenced him. "We all want to pass," he started. "I'm just being more strategic about it."

Wanting to press on in his game a little longer, Sakyo began to respond, but immediately came to a halt, forcibly stopping Jack with a hand on his chest. "Stop," he said. "Something's coming."

"Another bear?"

"No. Bigger."

The sound of something dragging on the ground grew louder until A giant sickly grey spider stood before them, the body of another applicant wrapped in webbing and dragging behind it.

"Kill it!" yelled Jack.

"I'm tired from the last one," Sakyo said through a devilish grin. "You take this one."

His eyes widened, the spider seemed to be paying no mind to Sakyo as it stepped toward Jack, the wrapped body dropping with a thud before it fired off webbing at Jack.

His clothes made him a blur of red as he leapt out of the way and then continued to roll instinctively, dodging 2 follow up streams of web. A screech erupted from the creature as it swiped at Jack with its forelegs. Not having enough time to get out of the way, Jack brace for the impact with his shoulder and was hurled across the marshy field.

He had no time to recover before the spider was on him covering him in web.

"Nothing personal, I'm just being strategic," called Sakyo as he walked away.

Unable to scream, unable to move. Jack lay trapped.

" _Am I going to die like this! Damn it! I haven't even done anything yet!" he thought._

"Let him go!" Yelled Kalei as she leapt atop the spider. She plunged both scimitars into its hide.

It writhed back and forth, lurching and shaking, trying to get her off. The force eventually sent her to the ground as well with her blade flying through the air as well. She began crawling toward them, inching closer until her fingertips were just short of it. The spider had begun entangling her in the web as well.

She looked around frantically, trying with all her might to just get the last inch she needed to reach her scimitar. And then the spider's deafening screech chilled the air.

Kalei looked over her shoulder to find that its two forelegs had been sliced off, but the assailant was already gone.

She kicked forward the last inch, grabbed hold of the scimitar to cut herself free of the webbing. Getting to her feet proved almost as dangerous as staying still as the spider swiped at her, but she was already in the process of diving toward Jack. She cut him free and he stumbled over to the free scimitar.

Now both on their feet, they faced the giant spider. It was off balance with its missing legs and leaking blood profusely.

"I'll go in first and then you stab its face," said Kalie with a brave smile.

Before Jack could argue, she was already off.

Every instinct in his body said to turn and run, while he had the chance. He was watching for an opening as Kalei fended off the attacks of the spider and even off balance it still seemed hopeless.

" _I have to run. I need to run, right now!"_ thought Jack. He looked down to the blade and shook his head. He wasn't ready to die just yet. _"I'll toss the sword back to her and run."_

"Kalei!

His voice carried as he began stepping away and he flung the blade in her direction. Kalei thinking that was the signal to get out of the way, ducked, a leg just swinging over her head as the blade careened into its face.

She shot Jack a smile, who was currently stunned in place, before turning on her heel and slicing off a few more legs. The creature fell over now and she pierced the scimitar through its head before dislodging both of them.

She quickly ran over to the entangled applicant to cut them loose, but found they were already dead.

"We did it!" she shouted.

The shout brought Jack back to his senses as he gulped down his shame. "Quiet down. Yeah, we did it."

"Oh. Hehe, you're right. Ok! Where's Sakyo?"

On cue, Jack's eyes landed on Sakyo just out of view who placed a finger on his lips before disappearing into the marsh.

"Ahh, I don't know. I guess he missed me," lied Jack. "Let's, get a move on before more of those come around here."

Kalei shook her head and the pair took off into the marsh. It was close to an hour before they found the 2nd Baro standing beside the 1st Baro. From their group only 15 or so members had made it through.

* * *

Shortly after the second group left, the 5th group was next to depart. Going completely to the right, as opposed to the left like either of the first two groups.

It was hard to stay quiet and not tell the other groups what they thought, but Baro had foreseen this possibility so shortly after the 2nd group left, he issued a warning of no communication between groups as this was an exam.

After the 5th group, the 4th group departed, going slightly to the left of that group. This left only the 3rd group.

A red shirted Baro stood before them. "We'll be heading straight ahead. This will be a final warning to turn back. Both the left and right side of this island are home to dangerous creatures and we will be heading directly through all of them."

With no response, he took off with 100 members in tow. It didn't take long for the visibility of the marsh to set in.

"It's disgusting in here," said Walton.

"Oh it could be worse, I guess," said Clare. "Much worse."

Kean's eyes were glued to Silva. The blond haired man was moving at breakneck speed with what seemed to be a leisurely effort.

Screams broke the focus of each examinee. Someone, somewhere had fallen prey to some sort of creature.

They stayed focused. There was no point in getting caught up in the sounds around them, everyone here was a proud examinee.

The trio faced several Marsh bears as they progressed through the marsh. At times, Walton used his freakish brute strength to clobber one until Clare could slice it with her scythe and often Clare and Kean simply overwhelmed them with speed and power.

What stopped them in their tracks was a cluster of Marsh spiders, they had run straight into what appeared to be a nest of some sort. And in the center was a blue haired young woman. Her skin was tanned and she wore a skin tight black armor.

"A ninja?" Kean asked aloud. I hadn't heard of anyone else coming to take the exam. He rushed to her aid immediately. Leaping into action, his eyes still looking for the tall blonde man. He scanned the perimeter and saw him face to face with a spider.

" _Damn it. This is my chance. I need to hurry up and get a peak at his skills."_

He slid by a spider slicing open its side with a small dagger. Turning on his heel, he drew 3 ninja stars and hurled them into the face of another, the latter remained unfazed and screeched in pain. The sliced one meant to continue its attack on the fellow ninja, but quickly found itself pinned to the ground with a scythe through its head. Its scream quickly fizzled out.

The young woman gave a nod of thanks, before picking up a short sword she'd lost. The screaming spider was met with a huge right fist to the face from Walton and while it remained mostly unharmed. That created and opening for a sword to be plunged into its maw. And with a flourish as swift as can be, Clare's scythe carved a line around between the head and thorax, lopping it off.

"We can't keep fighting them," said Walton watching as half a dozen more poured out of the nest. "We've got to run."

Kean reached into his garb and hurled several green balls at the ground creating a smokescreen. "Run!"

The group darted away from the nest, circling around it before running as fast as they could towards the direction Baro had gone. Their sprint slowed to a leisure run as the red shirt just peaked out through the trees.

"Thanks a lot," huffed the blue haired ninja as she caught her breath. "You really saved me back there."

"Don't mention it!" Boomed Walton.

Clare giving a nod as well as she tried to catch her breath.

"I've got so many questions for you," said Kean as they ran. "I've never met a ninja from outside Jappon before."

"Will do, let's just make it to the next phase and we can relax for a bit."

They all agreed as they continued their run. Over the course of the next hour or so, they had little on the order of Marsh spider nests, but their trek brought them face to face with the occasional bear and then one last spider before they made it just before the opening.

They could hear the voices of other examinees and it sounded like a large group was ahead of them.

"That must be the finish line for Phase 1!" cheered Walton.

"Great!" said the woman. "Thanks again for saving me. Oh and by the way, my name is-"

"Marie Piln," came a deep voice.

The sound was foreign to each of them. The sound of flesh piercing flesh. But in a moment, the blue haired woman felt her feet scraping the ground, her nails digging into the arm currently plunged through her back and out where her heart once was.

The tall blond figure of Silva Zoldyck keeping her aloft, stood perfectly still behind her now as his target died, impaled on his arm. With his free hand, he pressed a headset. "Father. I'm finished with the first target."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So here we are. Hope to be bringing you guys more regular updates, not exactly sure on what day of the week works best yet, but hopefully we can get this story going weekly.

I know the pacing of this was fast. However, I don't want to waste anytime with an abundance of faceless characters. We'll go a tad bit slower from the next update onward as the sheer volume of characters will be less. For what we have here, I hope you guys enjoyed it.

 **P.S.** Apologies for the editing mistakes, I couldn't find them all because of a tablet issue. But here's hoping it wasn't too distracting.

 **Credits:** Thanks to everyone for giving me great OCs.

 **Kalei Jarillo - Tsuyurin**

 **Jack Russel - Mary Allen**

 **Sakyo Rochefort -** **LuciferXIII Trollkaiger Green**

 **Sephtis - PainX65**

 **Thanks for the support everyone!**


	4. Thank You

First and Foremost, thank you to everyone who has ever spent any time reading, reviewing and creating OCs for the stories I wrote. I am sorry to say, that I won't be updating any longer. It had always been my intention to continue and complete the stories I sought to bring to you all and I'm terribly sorry to have disappointed many of you. Since I began writing fanfiction, I've been plagued by technology issues. Recently I felt confident that was no longer the issue, but as per my luck that turned out to not be the case. And this time around there was quite a lot that wasn't stored on a backup. At this point, it feels like me writing here wasn't meant to be and so this is a formal thank you to everyone who has supported me up until now. Thank you.


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